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Phoenix is a French alternative rock band started during their childhood by Thomas Mars, Deck D’Arcy, Christian Mazzalai and Laurent Brancowitz in the affluent suburb of Versailles, in the same culture that produced late-’90s bands such as Air and Daft Punk. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is their fourth studio album. I would describe their sound as Gorillaz meets Death Cab for Cutie; a blend of soft rock and electronic.
To be honest I had never heard of Phoenix before I stumbled upon this album, so I can’t really comment on what (if any) kind of evolution this album is from previous works. However, I can say that I really enjoyed this album and it’s great from top to bottom. There’s a sense of purpose about the album’s opening salvo of tracks: Liztomania and 1901, in particular, are so well done, so perfectly constructed as to outflank any reservations you might have about the band’s slightly dry approach.
There’s also a nice range of tempos throughout the album, Fences spikes the electro beat of Daft Punk with an urgent acoustic-guitar breakdown for splendidly danceable melancholy. To the near Brit-rocky rave-ups of Lasso.
Love Like A Sunset is a great mellow yet epic, mid-album palate cleanser of almost 7 minutes of pure instrumental.
Everything on Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is well constructed and never sounds forced –or over-produced and fussy. Overall it’s a great listen, check it out.
